In Appalachian Alabama, AlabamaREAL helps individuals, schools, and rural communities grow through hands-on entrepreneurship education. School-based businesses teach students to recognize business opportunities; encourage participatory learning; and meet the needs of small, rural communities. The Appalachian Regional Commission provides schools…

Describes a science activity in which students study stream profiles of an imaginary aquatic environment, measure the stream depth, and graph the cross section both in classroom simulations and on a field trip. (YDS)

Unit of study about rocks and the layers of the Earth focuses on building children's respect for nature by developing feelings of intimate relationship. Lesson plans include science activities (rock gathering, Earth models); "drama from the outside" (ritual to promote respect); literature readings; and "dramas from the inside"…

Describes the Semester at Sea Program of the Institute for Shipboard Education in which over 20,000 college students have participated over the past 30 years. The ship's geologist/geographer presented geological briefings in a daily interdisciplinary core course during 60 days at sea. He also guided field trips during 43 days ashore. Visits to…

Discusses the teaching method of students studying a topic, then explaining the meaning of the concept to each other in their own words using examples from their everyday lives. The instructor acts as a coordinator, mediator, and a resource person. Concludes with the disadvantages of this interactive learning technique on a habitat tour, among…

Moving active learning forward calls for a focus on learners' actorship, not program activities, and requires distinguishing between active learning and active teaching. Experiential education offers an alternative to didactic approaches, not a more attractive form of it. Accepting traditional principles and procedures of…

Describes research that students can undertake while studying history in a cemetery. Explains that, for example, students can study the changes in the cemetery, select a tombstone and write a biography of the person identified on the headstone, and learn about the memorial park and what it says about society. Includes a bibliography. (CMK)

Discusses the teaching technique, "authentic instruction," in which students learn to analyze historical documents. Describes how to teach elementary students to analyze historical photographs. Explains how teachers can locate historical photographs using the World Wide Web or family photographs. (CMK)

Presents an activity in which students investigate the chemistry behind color-changing markers. Includes the objectives, materials, procedures, and follow-up for the activities. (DDR)

Presents an activity that demonstrates how a traditional activity can generate questions not typically raised in a conventional course. In the context of astrobiology, students can connect to an intriguing endeavor, the search for extraterrestrial life. (DDR)

In response to high numbers of preventable fatal accidents in the logging industry, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed a week-long logger safety training program that includes hands-on learning of safety techniques in the woods. Reaching small operators has been challenging; outreach initiatives in Maine, North…

A review of research in cognitive and social psychology reveals the importance of situation assessment in the development of decision-making expertise. A naturalistic training model is presented for outdoor leaders that includes training for ill-structured problems, a heavy workload, time stress, and high stakes, as well as multiple players and…

Focuses on Perry School (Erie, Pennsylvania), the first geography theme-based elementary school in which everything is related to geography. Describes what students learn in each grade level and the expectations on what they should know. Reports on the creation of their geography learning lab. (CMK)

While working and playing together at camp, staff often work through most, if not all, of the stages of group formation, commonly referred to as forming, storming, norming, performing, and finally, transforming. Ten adventure-based games and activities are presented to help camp directors train staff and help them progress through these stages.…

Presents a classroom project in which children use bottles and sand to explore mathematics. (Author)